Lorien
"'You know, Earth has nothing on Lorien. Sure, Earth looks pretty nice in some places, but Lorien was beautiful everywhere. It was the most beautiful planet in all the galaxies." '-Number Nine, ''The Rise of Nine '''Lorien was one of the smallest of the eighteen life-sustaining planets in the known universe. It was the fourth planet from its sun. The sun is apparently twice the size of Earth's, implying that it is a red giant. This would make sense, considering Lorien's solar system's age compared to Earth's. As of 2013, there are only thirteen surviving residents of Lorien are alive on Earth: six Garde, one Cêpan, and presumably six Chimærae. History 25,000 years ago, Lorien was suffering the same problems that Earth is experiencing now—overpopulation, global warming, food shortages, and unnecessary war. The inhabitants of Lorien realized they needed to change their ways, and therefore the Elders came to power. They took away their guns and their bombs, and discovered the Phoenix Stones. This was the event that called the Chimærae out of hiding and pressed the evolution of the Garde, creating Legacies. For the next several millennia, the Loric lived in an era known as the Great Loric Age, or the Golden Age of Lorien. This brought forth an annual celebration known as the Quartermoon. It was a two-week period in which both moons hang on opposite sides of the horizon, celebrating the time in which the Elders saved Lorien. While the Loric had interactions with humankind on Earth, they also interacted with another, more hostile species known as the Mogadorians. On a recon mission to the planet, the barbaric Mogadorians reacted violently. Due to fear of the Mogadorians, the Elders declared travel to the planet forbidden. However, Elder Setrákus Ra thought that the Mogadorians could progress with Loric wisdom and ideals. He began to mine Loralite, the planet's greatest gemstone, to create his Augmentations that would grant certain beings artificial Legacies. He was later "executed," but was secretly banished by Elder Pittacus Lore. On the first night of the last celebrated Quartermoon, the Mogadorians invaded and attacked Lorien. While the Garde fought valiantly, they were defeated. Within a week, the Mogadorians strip-mined Lorien for everything it was worth. The planet is now a monochromatic gray and black, the surface scorched from the fires that burned away the atmosphere. No wind blows on the surface anymore, and there is no water or oxygen. However, the Loralite beneath the planet is still "alive," in a way. Notable Locations * Loric Museum of Exploration: A huge museum devoted entirely to the evolution of space travel. One of the wings of the building held early rockets that were thousands of years old and used to run on a kind of fuel known only to Lorien. Lexa, Crayton, Zophie, Ella, and a menagerie of Chimærae departed from Lorien in this museum. * Capital City: The primary of the very few cities on Lorien, where the Spires of Elkin—the largest artificial structures on Lorien where a third of the city's population lives—and Eilon Park are present. The city was home to Number One and Sandor, and was the primary target for the First Great Expansion. * Deloon: A coastal region of Lorien, where Sandor's parents stayed on holiday for the Quartermoon. Apparently, the region is "terrible" around the Quartermoon, but it is not clear if this is based of weather or demographic. * Kabarak Colonies: '''Rural communal colonies where Loric mine Loralite, harvest crops, and raise Chimærae. These colonies extend very far out into the wilderness of Lorien, some of them very close to the cities, while others are isolated in the Outer Territories. The residents of these colonies wore red-silk cloaks. Number Nine and his grandfather lived near one of these colonies—Alwon—outside of the Capital City. Most of the colonies farther away from the cities were unaware of the invasion until the Mogadorians began to send troops to the surface. Known Kabarak locations included: Malka, Alwon, Tarakas, etc. * '''Terrax Ocean: The apparently global ocean of Lorien. This was where citizens of Lorien believed the Elders resided in a glass fortress. The premier ship of the Lorien Defense Council was named after this ocean. * Feldsmore: A highly mountainous region of Lorien, probably near the center of the apparent supercontinent. Features Lorien is ten times smaller than Earth. It orbits on its side, as the sun rises in the south and sets in the north. Sandor said multiple times in The Last Days of Lorien that the suns ''are rising, hinting at least two suns. This "second sun" may be a nearby star that is farther away from the main one. The planet is covered with forests and jungles that stretch on for miles, making up most of Lorien's surface, and massive mountain ranges. While there is a decent variation in the ecosystem with different biomes—forests, grasslands, and possibly taiga—it seems as if barren regions, such as tundras and deserts, are scarce to nonexistent on Lorien, as Lexa needed to be reminded what a desert was in [[The Navigator|''The Navigator]]. There is also a massive global ocean known as the Terrax Ocean. It is believed that at the bottom of this ocean is a glass fortress, where the Elders hold council. There is a conflicting belief that in the Mountains of Feldsmore, the Elders supposedly reside in an underground bunker. However, it is possible the meeting place of the Elders and Garde is a mental dreamscape. This has not been confirmed. Culture The Loric are a peaceful species. There is no war, and little to no crime. The civilization only has a few cities, including the Capital and the smaller, seaside city Deloon. Most Loric live in provinces in the wilderness, known as Kabarak Colonies. The Outer Territories are an expanse of untamed wilderness that make up over half the planet. Cêpans, the Loric who control the government, do not have any Legacies. Around their early teenage years, the Cêpans take an aptitude test to decide their future profession. When they grow older, in their late teens to young adulthood, they enroll in academies to progress in their future occupation until they are eligible to work. The Cêpans are bureaucrats, and teach the Garde how to hone their Legacies for society when the Garde turn eleven years of age. Garde grow up to be athletes, performers, and warriors. At age eleven, they begin to develop their Legacies, and are taught by their Mentor Cêpans, commonly known as Keepers, to control the abilities until they grow older. In between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five, after the Garde marry and have children, they go off to master their abilities. The younger Garde are raised by their grandparents. It is currently unknown if the Legacies developed depend on a genetic trait that skips a generation or if they are impacted by the other Garde they spend time with, but it appears that Garde develop similar Legacies as their grandparents. This is shown when John developed the Legacy of Lumen, same as his grandfather, and when Number Nine exhibits signs of the Legacy of Precognition like his grandfather as well. The Lorien Defense Force is an elite military peacekeeping force meant to protect the planet from impending attack. The Lorien Defense Council, a bureaucratic party that runs the planet, prepares them all for the dangers which may or may not come. After they became so advanced to a certain extent, the Loric seemed to have stopped progressing in science and technology, as hinted by Rexicus Saturnus. Trivia * According to John, Lorien is a hundred times older than Earth, making it about 450 billion years old. It is unknown whether John is exaggerating the age of Lorien, or if he is being precise, and is implying that the universe is far older than it is believed to be. * Because of how small Lorien is, one can see the curve of the horizon from a high altitude. * Many Loric have human names, due to their interaction with Earth. However, one could argue that humans have Loric names for the same reason, and they are interpreted differently on Earth. * Lorien's technology has influenced Earthen industry with inventions such as cars, iPhones, and the Internet. * There are only a few cities on Lorien. Two of them are known as Deloon and the Capital City. * Most Cêpans were given one of three professions: ** The Munis were the custodial corps and did city maintenance. ** The Kabaraks lived on the rural colonies in the wilderness of Lorien, doing tasks such as Loralite mining and Chimæra husbandry, in order to keep the planet "running smoothly." Category:PlanetsCategory:Loric Category:Garde Category:Cepan